motion/connection/perception was conceived and produced during a month-long residency in the Everglades National Park. The video embodies our accumulated body knowledge acquired on daily explorations of The Coastal Prairie, Nine Mile Pond, West Lake, The Pinelands, The Hole in the Donut, Hell's Bay, Mud Lake, Coot Bay, Buttonwood Canal and Florida Bay.
Early on we decided to work together on a collaborative piece that combined two sets of ideas, two sets of eyes, and two bodies. The format of the resulting video mimics this two-part identity in its split screen format. Each segment of the video juxtaposes two movements and locations in the effort to reveal the distinct qualities of each.
We began from the assumption that each form of movement has an effect on our perception of the world. We have paddled, hiked, and driven through the park with cameras strapped to dashboards, paddles, feet, gunnels, and thighs. Reviewing the captured footage of each experiment then led us to new combinations of motion and location in a serial process of call and response. In the end we decided on five different pairs of motions and places that best captured a sense of physical engagement with the environment. motion/connection/perception displaces the point of view from the eye to the location of physical motion to provide the viewer with not just a visual image, but also the physical sensation of movement. It represents our attempt to make a connection with place through direct physical contact.
We have deeply enjoyed our time exploring this incredible place. We are grateful to the National Park Service for providing us with this opportunity and to Allison Gantt, Al Morrison, Mark Rentz, Allan Scott, Liz Struhar, and Jonathan Taylor for their assistance.
